My Brother Jim Kirk
by TheBaritone
Summary: Nerdy Leonard has always been jealous of his twin brother Jim Kirk, captain of the high school football team. But when Jim is recruited to be on the starship Enterprise, he has a chance to ruin his brother's reputation. Meanwhile, Leonard's best friend Sheldon gets into an argument with a Vulcan called Spock.
1. The Perfect One

**Author's Note: Hi! Welcome to my story! Basically, this is a story about Leonard and Kirk as brothers in high school. Please review! Even if you hate it, I appreciate constructive criticism, but I hope you will enjoy it.**

Leonard's POV

My alarm clock goes off and I wake up smiling, still remembering my dream. The members of science team and the Star Wars fan club were suddenly cool, cooler than the football team who were shunned. My smile fades as I remember that that will never happen. I stretch and push off my quilt with the big picture of Yoda. I dress quickly and go downstairs where, of course, my perfect twin brother Jim waits. As usual, he's been up since four, working out, and he's already made breakfast. The phone rings and he answers.

"Kirk here."

Through the phone, I hear one of his football buddies reply, "Hey captain, what's up?"

Jim continues to talk to the other guy on the phone and he points to the eggs and bacon he's made, which I pointedly ignore. I'll eat when I get to school. Sheldon's making bat symbol-shaped pancakes we can eat before the bell rings.

Sheldon's waiting for me when I get to school. Even though he graduated college a year ago, he's only my age and he comes to the high school to use the lab. He's been researching using string theory to create a dark matter field, which will apparently create an alternate universe.

We sit in the science lab eating our pancakes while Sheldon tells me about his research. "I believe I am very close to creating a ShellyLand," he says.

I nearly choke on my pancake. "A what!?"

"A ShellyLand," Sheldon repeats calmly. "That's what I've decided to name my alternate universe."

"I'm sorry Sheldon," I say, "but that's the stupidest name you could've come up with."

With a totally straight face, he replies, "No it isn't. It's named after me."

There's no point in arguing with Sheldon so I say nothing else. After a few minutes, a pretty blond walks by the lab door. I stare off into space daydreaming about her until Sheldon's voice jolts me back into reality. "What are you thinking about, Leonard?"

"Do you think Penny would go out with me?"

"Why would you want Penny to go out with you? She has one of the lowest IQ's in the school."

"It's not always about brains, Sheldon. Don't you have emotions?"

"Emotions are useless."

"You're useless." I stand up and walk to the door, looking outside to see if I can spot Penny. She's down the hallway, leaning against the wall and talking to her friends, who wave goodbye to her and go off somewhere, leaving Penny alone to stare at a poster on the wall. I turn to Sheldon. "How much time before the bell rings?"

"About five minutes."

"I'm gonna ask her out."

"Don't come crying to me when she's too stupid for you."

I roll my eyes. I open the door and start down the hallway. I'll show Sheldon. We'll be so happy together he won't believe it. Not that he knows what happiness is. I'm about halfway down the hall when Jim turns the corner by Penny and kisses her. I stop in my tracks. When did that happen? I turn around and go back to the science lab. Come to think of it, I think Jim did say something about his new girlfriend last night when we were eating dinner, and as usual, I was trying to tune him out.

Sheldon is starting up a computer when I reenter the lab. "Did you come to your senses, Leonard?" he asks.

"Shut up. Jim got to her first."

The bell rings. I start on my way to homeroom. I pass Jim in the hallway. He's holding Penny's hand as they walk to class. I give him a dirty look. If he notices, it doesn't show.

Seven hours later, Sheldon and I are in the back seat of the car Jim and I share. We trade off driving home from school and today is his day. Penny sits in the front on the passenger side. Jim's taking her to a movie and dinner after he drops Sheldon and I off at home to play the game Sheldon invented – 3D chess. Bohemian Rhapsody is on the radio. Jim looks at Penny and does this weird thing where he says the words rather than sings them. He stares straight into her eyes and tries to look all hot and sexy. Personally, I think it looks kind of stupid, but Penny falls for it – just like all Jim's previous girlfriends.

There are about seven stop lights between the school and our house. Jim and Penny kiss at each one of them – a clear reminder that Jim won again. I try not to watch them, but he keep wishing that it was me up there with Penny instead.


	2. Science Fair

The only thing I can really top Jim in is brains. My IQ's about 173, while his is down around 125.

Of course, no one notices that. And those who do notice me taking college classes, while Jim is in nothing above Honors, writes it off as me being a nerd.

I know that this won't be any different. I'll just be another science geek that won an award. But at least I can say to myself, hey, I beat Jim again.

That's why I have to win this science fair.

Every year at our high school, the seniors have a science fair. Whoever wins gets a ribbon. I need that ribbon. I know that Jim won't win and it won't be hard to beat him. But if I don't rank, we'll both just be one of those people who didn't place and I won't have won this little battle.

I've worked extra hard on this experiment. It's a simple idea, but the results could be revolutionary.

Do Lima Beans React Better to Classical Music?

A kindergartener could do it. But not like this. I haven't just looked at how tall the plants have grown. I've looked inside them. Studied their proteins, their chemical processes. This experiment could change the way we study humans.

I stand in the gymnasium, trying to inconspicuously wipe sweat off of my forehead. I'm already regretting wearing the corduroy suit, as good as it looks. With the entire senior class in the science fair and the three judges going to every table, it takes forever. It's been about four hours and I'm guessing it will take at least one more. All three judges have been to my table and listened to my presentation. Sheldon was one of them. Some of the other students have complained that he'll go easy on me because he's my best friend, but that shows how well they know Sheldon. I'm sure he judged me more harshly than the other two.

Jim is at the table next to mine since we're set up in alphabetical order by our last names. I've made a point not to look at his experiment or even at him. He's talking to the last judge. I watch out of the corner of my eye. The judge looks bored. Good. They all looked pretty interested in mine.

One and a half hours later, we've all moved into the auditorium for the awards ceremony. Sheldon comes up to me.

"You've finished comparing the scores," I ask.

"Yes, and the other judges were way to easy on you. Would you believe they gave a three out of five in originality for the which-paper-towel-absorbs-more-water experiment?"

"How did I do?"

"You know I can't tell you that. It's supposed to be confidential."

One of the science teachers walks to the microphone on the stage. He gives a speech about the history of the science fair, why it's important to our education, and so on. When he finishes, he holds up a paper. "And now," he says, "our winners." I sit up straight, now paying attention.

"In third place, Cameron Johnson." Cameron walks onto the stage and takes a red ribbon held out to him by the principal before moving upstage.

"In second place, Howard Wallowitz." Howard, one of my good friends, takes a silver ribbon and stands next to Cameron.

"And in first place..." I hold my breath and cross my fingers. The teacher takes a breath.

"Leonard Kirk!"

I walk onto the stage to take my blue ribbon. The principal holds it out to me and I take it. I've done it. I've beat Jim again. Maybe no one will notice, but I don't care. I beat him. I stand next to Howard, who gives me a high five. I see my mother stand up and walk towards the stage. Why? She climbs up the stairs. The teacher looks confused as my mother holds out a hand for the microphone, but he hands it over anyway. What is she doing? Maybe she's just making some announcement for the PTA, like 'refreshments' are in the hallway,' or something like that. I really hope she's not going to say how proud she is of me. That would be embarrassing.

But what happens is much worse.

"Hello everyone. I am Leonard's mother. As much as it pains me to do this..."

Pains her? What's going on? She doesn't look very pained.

"I am going to have to ask Leonard to give back his ribbon."

At first, I'm not sure I heard her right. Give back the ribbon? Why would I do that?

"You see, Leonard cheated on his experiment. His brother, James Kirk, performed the same experiment. Do Lima Beans Grow Worse to Rock and Roll? He had it completed a month before Leonard. Leonard took the idea and added a few details. So, I cannot let Leonard take credit for the work done by his brother."

There is a stunned silence. The audience doesn't know how to react, and, honestly, neither do I. My first thought is that my mother doesn't know what she's talking about. Jim didn't do that experiment. His experiment was... I realize that I have know clue what experiment he did do. Maybe we really did do the same experiment. Obviously, he wouldn't have gone as in depth as I did, but maybe that's what my mother meant be 'added a few details.'

The science teacher looks surprised. Fortunately he doesn't ask what I have to say for myself or anything, he just holds his hand for the ribbon. I think about arguing, but I don't want to embarrass myself further. I hand over the ribbon and walk off the stage.

The science teacher continues to talk, but I'm not listening anymore. First place went to Howard, I think, but it doesn't really matter. I lost the science fair. I didn't beat Jim.

As soon as we get home, I explode at my mother, "How could you do that to me?!"

She doesn't look at me, just glances off into the distance. "I couldn't let you win by cheating."

"But I didn't cheat! I had no idea what Jim was doing!" I turn on him. "Why didn't you tell me you were doing the same experiment?!"

"I had no idea you were doing it! It doesn't really matter anyway. We both know you didn't cheat."

"Well, I didn't see you going up there to tell them that!"

My mother has disappeared by now. I feel rage boiling inside of me. I throw a punch at Jim's face. He ducks out of the way. "What's with you?!" he exclaims.

"What's with me?! Maybe I'm sick of you ruining my life!"

"I'm sorry about the science fair, okay? If that ruined your life..." He ducks again as I try to land another punch.

"It's not about the science fair! It's everything else! Every time I do something, you butt in and do it better. The same day I became president of the science club, you became captain of the football team. You have all the girls you could ever want, but you have to choose the one I want. You're athletic and popular, and what have I got?! Nothing!"

Jim stops my third punch, catching my fist in his. He glares at me. "What are you blaming me for?" he asks, his voice cool and hard. "I did nothing wrong. I didn't become captain or go out with a girl to spite you and I can't help it if you're too stupid to see it that way."

He lets go of my hand, turns, and goes up the stairs. I'm still fuming, but I can't get rid of the sick feeling that he's right.


	3. The Enterprise

I barely manage to drag myself to school on Monday. Friday's science fair disaster is still fresh in my mind. I dread the thought of facing everyone at school.

Fortunately though, no one pays any attention to me as I walk down the hall. Everyone seems really excited about something, but, not having talked to anyone all weekend, I'm not sure what and I don't ask anyone. When I enter the science lab during lunch period, Sheldon is typing something on his computer. He looks up as I close the door. "Hello, Leonard," he says.

"Hey, Sheldon. What's up?"

"I think I managed to create a ShellyLand last night. It was very small, but if I adjust the energy input, I could create a ShellyLand with enough energy to power a starship. I could win a Nobel Prize for this."

"Did you see what happened Friday?"

"Well, let me see. I woke up at 5:30 am, as usual, then a watched a recorded episode of Doctor Who..."

"No, Sheldon," I interrupt. "I meant about the science fair."

"About you having to give back your ribbon because your brother performed a similar experiment?"

"You know I didn't cheat, right?"

"Leonard, your results were almost as much more intelligent than his than my brain is to yours."

"I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult."

"Neither. I was just stating the facts."

He turns back to his computer screen. "Sheldon?"

"Yes?"

"What's everyone so excited about?"

"You haven't heard? The Ent... oh no."

"What?"

"I just lost all my data."

"That's awful!"

"Not really. I have it all memorized."

The PA system beeps. "Would all students please report to the gym."

"An assembly? I didn't know we were having one today."

"That's what I was about to tell you. Some people from the Enterprise beamed down this morning. I heard that they are going to make an announcement to the whole school."

"What is it?"

"I can make a reasonable assumption that it has something to do with Starfleet."

"So you don't know."

"No. I can make a reasonable assump..."

"I heard you, Sheldon. Come on."

When we get to the gym, about ten people are standing in the center with a microphone. They're wearing gold, red, and blue Starfleet uniforms. Sheldon and I sit down on the bleachers. After about five minutes, on of the two men in gold shirts steps up to the microphone and introduces himself as the captain of the starship Enterprise. He proceeds to introduce the other nine men, four of whom appear to be about our age. Finally, he gets to what we've all been waiting for.

"I'm sure you are all wondering why we are here today," he says. There are a few murmurs throughout the audience. "One student," he continues, "will, if he accepts, train aboard the Enterprise and become a member of its crew. It will be a great honor. Only a handful of young people, from this world and others, were chosen."

Behind me, I hear a few people asking, "Who do you think it is?" The captain continues. "I have been responsible for selecting five people. Four are standing behind me. Mr. Spock, Mr. McCoy, Miss Uhura, and Mr. Sulu. The fifth, from this school, is..." He pauses. My subconsciousness knows what he's going to say before I do.

"James T. Kirk."

I can feel my face glowing red. The crowd erupts into cheers. It isn't fair. It's always been my dream to be on a starship. But of course, Jim's the one who actually gets to do it.

When the cheering starts to die down a little bit, the captain says, "Would Mr. Kirk please come down to the microphone?"

The cheering starts again. Girls are squealing and his football buddies are yelling, "Captain Kirk!" over and over. He'll be a starship captain before too long, I think bitterly. I give a few half-hearted claps. When Jim makes it to the center of the gym, he turns, looks right at the bleachers, and grins at the crowd. The cheering grows even louder.

The captain steps forward and holds up his hand for silence. He turns to Jim. "Mr. Kirk," he says, "do you wish to join Starfleet?"

I feel kind of guilty about it, but I'm half wishing he'll say no. It's bad enough being the dorky, unpopular twin brother of super popular, girl-magnet, football captain Jim Kirk, but being the dorky, unpopular twin brother of space hero, Starfleet soldier Jim Kirk would be about fifty times worse.

But of course, he doesn't say no. Instead, he briefly glances at the audience, grins, takes a deep breath, turns to the captain looking as strong and confident as ever, and says, "Yes, I do wish to join Starfleet."


	4. Not So Perfect

Jim and I are on our way home from school. I'm still in a bad mood about Jim getting picked to be on the Enterprise and it doesn't help that he talks about it the whole way home. Fortunately, it's my turn to drive, which gives me an excuse to stare ahead at the road and not look at him.

"So, after the assembly, we all beamed onto the Enterprise. It's huge and it's got better technology than anything I've seen on Earth. I met the other four new people. Their names are Leonard McCoy, Hikaru Sulu, Uhura, and Spock. I never found out Uhura's first name and apparently no one can pronounce Spock's. Spock's from Vulcan. I've never met a Vulcan before. He's got pointy ears and he's like super smart. The weird thing is that he's got no emotions. It's a Vulcan thing. Then again, Leonard McCoy said he's half human, so maybe he does actually have emotions."

Shut up, I think. I don't say anything though, so Jim keeps on going.

"Anyway, Sulu and I are gonna learn how to control the ship and navigation and everything. It's going to be awesome. But we have to finish high school first. Everyone else is going to go here until we graduate. They're all staying at the Star Base. We didn't really want to get off the ship, but we had to. Sulu pretended that he beamed down, but he really didn't, so he's going to beam us all up tonight."

"You're sneaking onto the Enterprise!"

"Well yeah."

"You can't just sneak onto the Enterprise!"

"Sure we can. Sulu knows how to beam us up," he says not exactly getting my point. "Do you want to come?"

We're stopped at a light. Do I want to come!? Heck, yeah, I've wanted this my whole life. But then again, well, its wrong. Like I said to Jim, you can't just beam onto the Enterprise like that. Still, if there's one thing I've never been able to do, its say no to something I want.

"Yeah, I want to come."

A car honks. I notice that the light's turned green. I press on the gas. Something occurs to me.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you letting me come onto the Enterprise with you?"

"You want to go, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Then why not?"

Just another example of his perfection.

Eight hours later, Jim and I are standing in an empty field. Jim's starting to get impatient. "Where are they," he asks no one in particular.

After a few minutes, a voice behind me says, "Sorry to be late, Jim. I was held up.

I jump. So does Jim. We turn around. Expecting a human, I get a shock when I come face to face with a tall Vulcan with pointed ears and slanted eyebrows. "Spock!" Jim exclaims. "You scared me."

"I do not understand the human emotion of fear. It is completely illogical," Spock says.

"Logic isn't everything, Spock," says Jim, rolling his eyes. I remember saying something similar to Sheldon a week ago. The two of them would be best friends.

"Where are Leonard and Uhura?"

"I don't know. They should have been here by now."

I see two dark shapes in the distance. "Is that them?"

Spock looks. "Yes, that is them."

The two come closer and I see that they are a boy and a girl. They start running towards us. "You guys are late," calls Jim.

"Sorry," says the girl, whom I assume is Uhura. Leonard was driving me out here and he lost his keys. It took us half an hour to figure out that he left them in his truck."

"Where did you get a truck?" Jim asks.

"Rented it. Did you know the car rental place is called Enterprise? Funny, isn't it."

"Who's this?" Uhura asks, gesturing to me.

"My brother, Leonard."

"We have the same name, "observes McCoy.

"Maybe we should give one of you a nickname so we don't get you confused, "says Jim. "Hey McCoy, you're going to be a surgeon, right?"

"Right," he replies, a little nervously not knowing where Jim is going.

"Then we'll call you Bones!"

'Bones' rolls his eyes. "Okay, whatever. We should let Sulu know we're ready to beam up."

Jim flips open his communicator, which looks a lot like a cell phone. "Kirk to Enterprise."

A voice comes through the speaker. "Sulu here."

"Ready to beam up."

A second later, my body begins to dissolve into golden sparks. It's a strange sensation. It's like I'm floating, but I don't feel my body. Then the sparks appear again and my body comes back into existence. We're standing in a small room on a raised platform. We're on the Enterprise.

Jim, Spock, Bones, and Uhura jump down from the platform and walk over to a boy standing at the controls. "Hey, Sulu," says Jim. "How's it going?"

"Pretty good," replies Sulu. "I almost got caught by Scotty, but I managed to avoid people for the most part. There's no one on the bridge. I mixed up the schedules a little bit, so no one knows it's their shift."

"Fascinating," says Spock.

"What's fascinating?" asks Sulu, frowning. "That I figured out how to reprogram the computers? Just because we aren't all as smart as you doesn't mean we're all stupid." Before Spock can reply, Sulu continues, "Anyway, one of the engineering guys showed me how to do it."

"Why would he show you that?" asks Bones.

"He was just being nice. It's not like it's top secret or anything."

I step down from the platform. Jim walks to the door, which automatically slides open, and looks out. "I don't see anyone," he says. "Let's go.

We make our way to the bridge. It's empty. "So, if no one's up here, who's controlling it?" I ask.

"No one needs to control it," Sulu replies calmly. "We're in orbit and we're not going anywhere, so she pretty much controls herself."

"But what if something happens?"

"Relax, nothing is going to happen."

Jim sits in the captain's chair. "I have an idea," he says. "I'm captain. Spock, you be my first officer. Sulu and Leonard have the controls. Uhura, you have communications. Bones, you're the surgeon."

"Bones?" interrupts Sulu.

"His new nickname. So we don't get him and Leonard confused. Anyway, we're going through an ion storm and Spock is picking up some strange signals."

Eagerly, Sulu and I sit down. "Captain," says Sulu, suddenly professional, "shall we turn away from the storm or go through it?"

"Through it, Mr. Sulu. There's another ship out there. We have to find it."

"Aye, Captain."

"Captain," says Spock. "We're picking up some radiation in too high amounts to be natural."

"What is it, Mr. Spock?"

"The nuclear reactor on the other ship must have blown up. They'll all be dead. We have to turn away."

"Alright. Mr. Sulu, turn around. We're going back."

"Ah, my heart!" cries Sulu. He falls to the ground, his tongue sticking out comically. "The ions... they got me!"

"McCoy," orders Jim. "Save him."

"Captain!" exclaims Uhura, "we're picking up communication signals from the ship!"

"Keep going towards the other ship, Mr. Kirk," Jim orders me. He rushes over and pretends to push a few buttons. "Warp speed!"

Time almost seems to slow down as I see him hit the button a little too hard, pressing it down... and turning on the warp engines.

Jim's eyes widen as he realizes what he's done. "Spock," he cries. "I turned on the warp engines!"

"Excellent, Captain. We will reach the ship in no time," replies Spock, still absorbed in the game. In the view screen, I see us hurtling away from Earth and towards Venus.

"No Spock," yells Jim. "I actually did it! We're leaving orbit!"

Sulu opens his eyes and jumps to his feet. Everyone rushes over to Jim and me and I quickly move out of the way.

"How do we stop this thing!?"exclaims Bones.

Jim's voice is about an octave higher than usual. "What do you mean, stop it! We have to get back to Earth!"

Uhura starts towards the door. "I'll get help."

"No!" cry Bones, Sulu, and Jim in unison. "We can't let anyone know what happened," says Jim.

"I am sure almost everyone on board has noticed us moving," says Spock, who has remained relatively calm this whole time.

"Yeah, but they probably think we're supposed to be moving." Jim takes a deep breath. "Bones, make sure no one comes in here. Sulu, Spock – they showed us the controls this morning. Help me turn around!"

The three of them gather around the controls and start attempting to turn the ship around. At last, they manage to gain control of the ship and we make it back to Earth, though just barely. Once we're safely in orbit, all of us except Spock collapse on the ground, exhausted, and bruised from being tossed around.

"Well..." says Jim.

"Well." say Bones and Uhura.

"We had better beam down before we're caught," says Spock. We all nod. We start making our way back to the transporter room. Suddenly, behind us we hear a voice.

"Captain," says a man in a Scottish accent. "The Enterprise – she just started moving."

We spin around. A man in a red shirt is talking into a communicator. "It's Scotty," whispers McCoy. "Hurry!"

We run the rest of the way to the transporter room. Jim, Uhura, Bones, Spock, and I climb onto the platform, while Sulu sets the controls. He joins us on the platform and our bodies dissolve again into golden sparks.


	5. A Secret

After rematerializing, the six of us run across the field to where we left our cars. Only Jim's and my car and Bones's truck are there.

"Spock," says Jim, "if you didn't drive all the way out here, how did you get here?"

"I walked."

"Walked! That had to have been twenty miles."

"I am aware of that."

"Why didn't you just rent a car?"

"It was far more logical to walk."

"I suppose you plan to walk home too."

"Precisely."

Jim rolls his eyes. "Leonard and I will drive you."

"I could drive him," says Bones.

"That truck's only got two seats. How do you even plan to fit Sulu in there?"

"He can lay on the floor behind the seats."

"What about Spock?"

"We could squeeze him in next to Sulu."

Spock raises an eyebrow. "I would prefer to walk."

Jim unlocks our car. "Just get in."

Spock opens the door to the backseat on the passenger's side and climbs in, while I get in the driver's seat. Jim waves goodbye to his friends and gets in and closes the door. I start driving. We sit in silence for about five minutes until Jim says, "It's a good thing no one saw us."

"Yes," agrees Spock, "we would have at the very least lost all hope of ever being on a starship again."

Jim nods solemnly, but doesn't say anything.

Something occurs to me. If what Spock said was true, and I'm sure it is, it means that if news of this incident ever got out, everything would go back to the way it was, or, just maybe, I would end up cooler than him. Maybe I could 'accidentally' let it slip to the captain what had happened. Everything would be perfect.

So why do I feel so uneasy?

"Leonard." Jim's voice jolts me back into reality. "Where are you going?"

I look at the road. We're on Second Street, no where near where we're supposed to be going. I must not have been paying attention and made a wrong turn. I groan and turn a corner onto a one-way street, now going towards the Star Base, which is the only one located on Earth, only to find that we're stuck behind an accident. Jim rolls down his window and sticks his head out. "It's backed up as far as I can see," he says. "It'll take us forever to get out and even longer if we stay in it and go ahead to the Star Base."

"No it won't," I say, moving into someone's driveway, turning around, and then driving against traffic, halfway on the sidewalk.

"You are aware that that is illegal, Leonard?" asks Spock. I look out the window to check for cop cars. "Yes, Spock. I know it's illegal."

I finally pull into a lane of traffic going the same way I am. "Spock, do you mind just staying at our house tonight?"

"It does seem to be the most logical course of action."

Spock ends up sleeping on our couch. Neither of our parents are home, so its just the three of us. I wake up at 5:30 the next morning and, as usual, get dressed and go downstairs. There's no sign of Jim, but I don't doubt he's already up. The doorbell rings and I open the door to find Sheldon. "Hey, Sheldon," I say. "What's up?"

"I did it!" he exclaims. "I created a ShellyLand!"

"Great!" I open the door wider to let him in. "What happened?"

"Let's play a game of 3-D chess and I'll tell you about it." We go into my dining room and start setting up the game on the table. "I was correct about creating a dark matter field," says Sheldon. "The energy was so strong it blew up the vacuum tube I had it contained in. Unfortunately, after that happened, it disappeared. Once I release my results, all starships will be made to be powered by ShellyLand energy."

I'm about to reply when a voice behind me asks, "What is this game?"

I jump and turn around. "Spock! Quit scaring people like that!"

Spock does not reply. Instead, he says, "It appears to be a form of chess."

"It's 3-D chess," I respond. "Sheldon invented it." Spock watches us as we continue to play. After several minutes, he points out a move to me that puts Sheldon into checkmate and wins me the game. Sheldon frowns. "That was not fair," he says. "It was two against one."

"Relax, Sheldon. It's just a game.

"It is not just a game! I challenge Spock to a game, just him versus me."

Spock raises one eyebrow then calmly takes a seat and resets the pieces. The game begins. "Sheldon," he says, "I heard you speaking earlier of a dark matter field. You believe it is possible that it could power a starship?"

"Yes," replies Sheldon. "It was so powerful it blew up the vacuum tube it was in."

"But if it blows up its container, how would it be controlled?"

"Well, one would have to use a vacuum tube of stronger material."

"What was the vacuum tube you were using made of?"

"Diamond."

"There is no material harder than diamond."

Apparently this hadn't occurred to Sheldon. He's fuming. "Such a substance could possibly be created," he says.

"It is possible," says Spock. "But how long would that take, and how much stronger would it need to be?"

Sheldon knows that Spock is right and his ideas are unrealistic, but he'll never admit it. He does not answer Spock's questions. "Leonard," he says. "We had better leave for school."

He stands up and leaves the room. I turn to Spock. "You'll have to excuse him," I say. "He's very – um – stubborn."

"It appears so."

I stand up and walk to the door. "See ya, Spock."

"Goodbye, Leonard."

I leave and follow Sheldon to school.

As usual, Sheldon and I go to the science lab before school begins.

"Sheldon?"

"Yes?"

"Last night – don't tell anyone this – Jim took me on the Enterprise with him and some of his friends and he accidentally turned on the warp engines and left orbit. He wasn't supposed to even be there. If anyone finds out it was him, he's going to be kicked out of Starfleet. Do you think I should tell the captain? Everything would be back to the way it was before he joined Starfleet and probably better."

"Or course, Leonard. Considering all you have lost because if him, it would be totally justified."

Sheldon's right. It would be totally justified. But I still have that uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.


	6. Unflappable

In the evening, I sit at my kitchen table doing my physics homework. Lightning flashes and thunder crashes almost simultaneously, making me jump. The door bangs open and Jim storms in, his hair and clothes soaked. "Hi, Jim..." I start, but he slams the door shut and goes up the stairs without acknowledging that I'm there. I hear his bedroom door slam too. Huh. Something must have happened on his date with Penny.

I finish my homework and close the book. I remember that I need to call Sheldon and ask him if he got the train tickets to go to ComicCon. I pull my phone out of my pocket, but its dead. Sighing, I throw it on the table and pick up the home phone. It's an antique that still has a wire attaching it to a keypad. I put it to my ear and I'm about to dial Sheldon's number when I hear someone speaking on the other end.

"Let's just say our relationship is over." Jim's voice. He must be on the other phone.

"Oh come on, Jim. What happened?" asks another voice. This time it's Bones. I should hang up, but I don't. I want to know what happened between Jim and Penny.

"Well, we were at dinner and I was trying to show off for her a little bit, you know, telling her about the Enterprise and everything. But she kind of let it slip about what happened last night and she got mad at me and called me an irresponsible liar."

"And she broke up with you for that?"

"No, but it kind of ruined the mood."

"So why did you break up?"

"I...um..."

"What did you do, Jim?"

"Well, our waitress came over to give us our check and her shirt was cut kinda low, so a lot was exposed, if you know what I mean."

"Don't tell me you stared at her!"

"Yeah. Penny was already mad and she totally flipped out."

"I would too if I was on a date with a guy and he started looking at other women...That sounded weird. So I guess it's over now, huh?"

"Yeah."

I hang up the phone, grinning. Now I have a chance with Penny.

When I get to school the next morning, I find Sheldon standing outside of the closed science lab door. He's staring at the doorknob, concentrating so he doesn't notice me approach.

"Sheldon?" I ask. "What are you doing?" he blinks and turns his head. "The janitor forgot to unlock the lab this morning. I was simply attempting to open the door using the power of my mind."

I stare at him. "Why don't we just try to get the key from the office?"

"Very well."

We set off towards the main office. "Jim broke up with Penny last night," I tell him.

"Why was that?"

"Part because of that thing with the Enterprise, part because he was looking at another girl."

"What thing with the Enterprise?"

"Didn't I tell you?" I tell Sheldon about how we sneaked onto the Enterprise and pretended we were in an ion storm. "Jim accidentally turned on the warp engines and sent us hurtling towards Venus.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help overhearing," says a voice behind us. "Did you just say _James Kirk_ turned on the warp engines two nights ago?"

I turn around. It's the captain of the Enterprise.

In ten minutes, Jim, Sulu, Spock, Uhura, bones, and I are sitting in the office, all looking anywhere but at the angry starship captain in front of us.

"I'm ashamed of you," he says, pacing back and forth. "I selected you five because I believed you had the potential to be great Starfleet officers. I was wrong, I suppose. You won't be joining Starfleet. You can kiss any dreams of that goodbye. And you," he says to me. "If you ever wanted to join Starfleet that won't be happening for you either."

I feel awful. Yeah, this is exactly what I was hoping for, but my victory is tainted by guilt.

Jim glances up from the floor and looks right at the captain. "Sir," he says, "it's my fault. It was my idea to beam up onto the Enterprise and I was the one who turned on the warp engines."

"Jim!" exclaims Bones. "Wait..."

"It's true, Bones," interrupts Jim, steel in his eyes. He turns back to the captain, now pleading. "Please, captain, don't make them suffer for this too. Please."

The captain sighs. The others are not at fault for this?

"No, sir."

"You take full responsibility?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very well, Mr. Kirk."

"Wait!" I stand up so fast my chair falls over. "Don't do this to him either!"

I've suddenly realized what this is really about. It's not about who gets the girl, who's more popular, or who gets shown up. It's about the rest of Jim's life. What kind of brother would I be if I ruined it for him? No matter how unfair everything is, he doesn't deserve to lose his dreams because of me.

The captain seems surprised at my outburst. "And why not?"

"Because." I take a deep breath. "Because if you do, Starfleet will have lost a great officer. Jim is meant to be on a starship, he's perfect for it. He's smart, he's strong, he's brave, and he's totally unflappable." I feel my face turning red, but I keep going. "If you think he's some kind of irresponsible mess who's going to destroy the Enterprise, you're wrong. He's an irresponsible mess who'll make the Enterprise great. If you kick him out of Starfleet because of this one mistake, then you'll be the one eho made a mistake."

I look down at the floor, my face glowing, and breathing hard. Everyone is staring at me. "I'm sorry, sir," I say, "but it's true.

The captain looks at me, then at Jim. He sighs and runs a hand over his face. "Okay," he says finally. "You five can stay in Starfleet – but no more of this! Next time, I won't hesitate. You guys can go."

We leave the office. I look away from the others, embarrassed. "Leonard," says Jim, quietly, "thank you."


	7. Where No Man Has Gone Before

**Author's Note: Hi! You've reached the end of the story. I'm going to try to post a sequel soon and it will probably be called Saving Raj. Remember to review!**

One month later, we graduate from high school. Even Sheldon shows up to the ceremony, though reluctantly. I'm finally done with high school forever.

And two days later, the Enterprise leaves orbit.

Sheldon and I go with Jim, Spock, Bones, Sulu, and Uhura to the StarBase to see them off. Sheldon approaches Spock.

"Spock," he says.

"Yes?" asks Spock.

"You... may have been... correct... about the ShellyLand... not being able to power a starship. I have studied it more and... it seems... improbable."

"A pure ShellyLand would not work, but perhaps a more controlled variation would."

Sheldon's face lights up a little. "You may be right."

Spock holds up his hand in the Vulcan salute. "Live long and prosper, Sheldon."

Sheldon returns the gesture. "Live long and prosper, Spock."

I guess they became friends after all.

Jim walks up and stands beside me. "I can't believe this is happening," he says.

"Why not?"

"Well, it's space, you know. It's strange, mysterious, and unexplored, and I get to go up there."

"It is kind of amazing."

"Yeah!"

"Come on, Jim," yells Bones. He, Spock, Sulu, and Uhura are standing in formation to beam up. Jim starts to run forward, then turns around and calls, "Goodbye, Leonard!"

"Bye, Jim!" I yell back. Jim stands with the others. Sulu takes out his communicator and says, "Ready to beam up." The golden sparks appear and my brother is gone – off to where no man has gone before.

It's been fourteen years since I last saw Jim, and I've only spoken to him once. He contacted me last month after he became captain of the Enterprise, which he's taking on a five year mission to explore the galaxy. While we were talking, I made a comment about making sure not to mess around and put the ship into warp drive when he wasn't supposed to. He laughed and said he'd learned from that experience. Of course he did – he's perfect

But that doesn't really matter anymore. I'm happy with my life, sharing an apartment with Sheldon, doing research at a university. My relationship with Penny was rocky at first, but things are going well now. So even though he's off exploring the final frontier and I'm still down here on Earth, I'm not jealous of him anymore. He has his life, I have mine and its good. That's what really matters.


End file.
